Donald Trump has done it again, hitting new lows for sleaziness. A full page ad in today’s Oregonian pushes a scam class to “learn how you can profit from the biggest real estate cash explosion in decades.” It’s tackier than the online version here, but you can get the idea.

These scam classes show up regularly wherever there are images of unlimited money – real estate and grantwriting are two common ones. They have a few things in common:

They promise quick, free money.

They’re unlikely on the face (if anyone could learn this in a few hours, we’d all be millionaires).

They start with a “Free Introductory Class” that pulls you into a class that you pay for, then often into monthly payments from your credit card for “advice.”

They target the least able to pay and the least likely to be financially sophisticated.

Every financial crisis brings out the hucksters and this one is no different.